The fractional model numbers are pieces over spokes: a 1/6 is a one-piece six-spoke, a 2/6 is a two-piece. The company was founded in 1989 in Merzig, named after a Swedish rally driver, changed hands four times, and ceased trading in October 2023.
NISMO: Owned by Nissan Since 1984, and What the 2022 Autech Merger Actually Changed
NISMO was created in September 1984 by merging Nissan’s works racing division with its customer parts operation, and it has been Nissan-owned ever since — the opposite of Mugen. In April 2022 it merged with Autech and became a brand rather than a company.
Mugen Is Not Honda: The 1973 Founding, the 2004 Reorganisation, and What M-TEC Is
Mugen was founded in March 1973 by Soichiro Honda’s eldest son, because Honda Motor did not employ family. There has never been a capital relationship between the two companies. In April 2004 the business transferred to M-TEC, and the brand continued unbroken.
Mugen Wheels: The GP, the TT, and Why They Are Not All 5×114.3
The GP is forged and metal-spun, with a claimed 2.4 kg saved against the 17-inch OE wheel. The TT is cast, and Mugen credits RAYS with making its centre cap. And the range includes 4×100 and 5×120 fitments — so check the pattern for the size, not the model name.
WALD International: The Mercedes Shop in Osaka That Became a Wheel Brand
WALD began in May 1990 as a Mercedes-Benz tuning shop in Osaka. The name arrived in 1994 with a division set up to build its own products — and it is a pun on the founder’s surname and the German word for forest. Today it makes both wheels and the Black Bison wide-body line.
OZ Superturismo vs Ultraleggera: Same Process, Six Pounds Apart
The shorthand says one is cast and the other flow-formed. OZ’s own pages say both standard lines are low-pressure cast monoblock, made in Italy — the weight difference is the spoke design. Flow-forming is the separate HLT line, and telling HLT from non-HLT is the real buying trap.
BBS LM vs RG: Two-Piece, One-Piece, and Which Question Each Answers
The RG came first, in 1985, and was the first mass-produced one-piece forged wheel with a complex mesh face. The LM followed in 1994, two-piece and named after Le Mans. Today the one-piece line is RG-R and RG-F — and RG-F weighs 4.2 kg at 15 inches.
BBS RS: Real, Replica or Counterfeit — and Why They Are Three Different Questions
A genuine BBS RS is a forged face bolted to two rolled barrel halves. Every RS-style replica we could find is one-piece cast. The RS number is a fitment code, not a model. And a legally-sold RS-style wheel, a counterfeit, and a genuine wheel wearing reproduction parts are three different situations.
SSR: The Initials Are a Race Team That No Longer Exists
SSR stands for Speed Star Racing — a works team that won its All-Japan F2000 debut in 1977 and stopped racing in 1995. The company behind it failed in 2005 and was bought by a suspension manufacturer. The three-piece wheels are still made in Yao, Osaka.
BBS: The German Brand That Is Made in Toyama
The name is German. The forged wheels are Japanese. BBS Japan began in 1971 making textile bobbins in Toyama, supplied the forging technology the brand was built on, and now sole-supplies Formula 1 — while the German company has gone insolvent five times.